Workplace harassment: your company needs a clear policy against harassment--and a mechanism to handle complaints.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks more than two years ago, there has been a significant increase in the number of charges alleging workplace harassment based on an employee's national origin and/or religion. Because the Detroit area has one of America's largest concentration of Arab Americans, employers here should be particularly sensitive to potential discrimination and harassment against employees who are--or are perceived to be--Muslim, Arab, Middle Eastern, Afghani, Pakistani or Indian.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Michigan Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibit workplace discrimination and harassment based on religion, ethnicity, country of origin, race and color. Here are some examples of the types of prohibited discrimination and harassment as it relates to religion and national origin:

* Affiliation -- Employers cannot harass or discriminate against an individual because he or she is affiliated with some religious or ethnic group. For example, employers cannot discriminate against an employee merely because he or she is Muslim. Employers should also be mindful that the use of derogatory names and phrases to describe people of Middle Eastern descent could potentially create a hostile work environment in violation of employment laws.

* Physical or cultural traits -- Employers cannot harass or discriminate because of physical, cultural or linguistic characteristics. For example, employers cannot discriminate against a woman who wears a hijab (head scarf) or a man who wears a turban because of their religious beliefs. Federal and state employment laws require employers to reasonably accommodate religious practices of an employee, unless doing so would create an undue hardship for the employer. Such reasonable accommodations might include the ability to wear religious garb. Employers should be reminded that refusing to hire someone because customers or co-workers may be uncomfortable with that person's religion or national origin is not a justification for a discriminatory practice.

* Perception -- Employers cannot harass or otherwise discriminate against someone because he or she is perceived to be a member of a particular racial, national origin or religious belief, regardless of whether that perception is correct. For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire a Hispanic person because the employer believed that he or she was from Pakistan.

* Association -- Employers cannot harass or otherwise discriminate against someone because he or she is associated with a person or organization of a particular religion or ethnicity. For example, an employer cannot refuse to hire an employee merely because he or she has Arab friends.

Because you as an employer can be held liable for harassment committed by supervisors, and potentially by coworkers or non-employees under their control, you should clearly communicate your anti-discrimination policies to your employees. You should inform your employees that they must respect their coworkers and that harassment in the form of ethnic slurs or other verbal or physical conduct directed toward any racial, ethnic or religious group is prohibited.

Moreover, you should make sure that they have a mechanism that allows employees to promptly report harassment. When harassment or discrimination is reported, you should focus on quickly ending the harassment and correct its effect on the complaining employee. By doing so, you can help prevent yourself from becoming the subject of an employment litigation lawsuit.

Patrice S. Arend is a partner at the Detroit law firm Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, a member of the Detroit Regional Chamber.